Notebook: Woodfin has made a fast mark on the program

This spring the players got to meet Zac Woodfin, their new strength and conditioning coach. Woodfin came from Southern Miss where he won the Football Scoop Strength Coach of the Year Award. He didn’t arrive until the last week of February but quickly earned the trust of the players.

“I’m really glad that he is here,” said offensive lineman Hakeen Adeniji. “What he has been able to do is help us apply strength with mobility. That is a key because on the football field it isn’t just about strength. You are always going to be moving while you do something. He has implemented more dynamic things where we are getting stronger and getting faster. I feel good with the things that he is done.”

Adeniji arrived last summer at 260 pounds and is tipping the scales close to 290. He said his body feels good with the weight gain and expects to stay close to the same weight.

Linebacker Joe Dineen said he likes how Woodfin has tailored individual workouts and program to each player to meet their needs. Dineen also mentioned that his flexibility has improved.

“For me personally it is just a whole different mentality,” he said. “I feel stronger and faster. But my body doesn’t feel broken down. My body feels good and I think my flexibility is getting better. That is all a credit to him. The workouts are all specific to each player.”

For the third season the defensive line will have a new coach heading into the season.

David Beaty hired Jesse Williams from Ohio to replace Michael Slater. Beaty first knew about Williams after Ohio beat up on the Jayhawks last year in Lawrence and Williams’ defensive line shut down the running game.

“He is a good coach and he’s changed the style that our defensive line has played with,” said Dorance Armstrong. “His style is more aggressive and he wants us to have more knock-backs. On the pass rush he has different moves that he has been teaching us out on the inside and outside.”

Williams will inherit a line that has experience and more depth than the Jayhawks have seen in recent years.

Daniel Wise believes the defensive line has the pieces in place to be a quality Big 12 unit.

“We can be good as we want to be,” he said. “We just have to keep elevating our game every day.”